Currently, Europe is using around half on its energy consumption for heating and cooling (H&C). The sector relies mostly on fossil fuels and it is responsible for about 27% of CO2 emissions. To decarbonise Europe’ energy system, our approach to heating and cooling needs to change!

A new open source software for heating & cooling planning

Hotmaps is a free online software that supports planning processes of the energy sector on the local level. It quickly provides you with a first estimation of the H&C demand in your area and analyses the potential of local renewable energy to cover it. It can help your city to reach its climate mitigation targets and avoid expensive consultancy fees. Developed in the framework ofHotmaps, a project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme, its beta version has just been released.

How does it work?

Hotmaps allows you to browse through a European map and retrieve information on space heating and hot water demand, CO2 emissions as well as potentials for renewable supply on a spatially disaggregated level. Users can input their regions and select the geographical scale of interest from a 100x100m resolution up to Country-level for the whole EU28. For a more detailed analysis, they may also upload their own data in their accounts.

The people behind

Leading research institutionsacross Europe developed the software together with 7 pilot areas: San Sebastian (Spain), Bistrita (Romania), Geneva (Switzerland) and Covenant Signatories Kerry County (Ireland), Milton Keynes (UK), Aalborg (Denmark) and Frankfurt-am-Main (Germany). In the past year, these pilot areas have been testing the tool and successfully used it for their own planning, with the help of the Hotmaps team.

What’s in it for you

Thanks to Hotmaps you will have access to:

·a starting data set for the whole EU;

·customisation options for the software;

·information on how to use the software in the form of anonline Wiki– a video tutorial is foreseen in the following months.

The Hotmaps team is now looking for more cities willing to test the software and develop their energy strategy – Hotmaps Followers. Followers will receive free training and support services – starting in October 2019.

Try Hotmaps now- discover your city’s climate neutral energy future!

Accessing the software is very simple. Visitwww.hotmaps.euand give it a try. The project team looks forward to receiving your feedback, to improve the beta version and tailor it even more to local authorities’ needs. A feedback-button is available to collect opinions and suggestions. The Hotmaps team also invites other developers to contribute with additional calculation modules or datasets that can be integrated in the tool. The final version of the software is planned to be released in Autumn 2019.